Speed Up Your N82 Gallery - Separation of Videos and Images Makes For A Better Experience

Hi guys, Aaron here again to share some quick tips for your n82. I know most of you may not find this post very helpful, but if you're like me who stores lots of media files on my phone, this tip is very handy.

The N82 maybe one of the fastest phone to date, but if we have hundreds of pictures and several video files stored on it, the gallery application becomes somewhat sluggish and takes like forever to load. I had this problem before, my gallery takes more than 10-15 seconds before the 'Opening..' dialog box let me access my media files. On a fresh reboot, it would take even longer. And it wont't respond to any key presses until a second or two. This is very irritating, especially when I need to take a look on some picture of notes or documents I need for reference. Also, if my friends want to browse my phone's gallery, I don't want them to wait so long and leave them the impression that my n82 is such a slowbro. In addition, my videos were scattered all over the gallery and there's no way possible to make it filter out videos from images or vice versa.

Based on my personal experience, video files are the major factor that slows down the gallery application. Especially those full length movies that you may have on your phone. If you want to speed up that gallery of yours, you can choose to separate your videos from your images on your N82 (a neat feature that is now implemented by FP2) by hiding them from the gallery. Just set your videos' hidden attributes to true using a third party file manager application like Y-Browser or X-plore. NOTE: Do not rely on setting the parent folder in order to hide several videos. See the Update below. Also, Video Center ONLY displays videos that are located on E:\Videos, and C:\Data\Videos (subfolders are not even scanned). You'll need to move all your videos there so that video center can see them.

Basically, your videos will only be hidden from the gallery, and not from Video Center. So if you want to watch videos, Video Center is the place to go. You can now enjoy browsing pictures on a much faster gallery application. I have 381 images on my phone now and the gallery loads it for as fast as 2-3 seconds (3-5secs on fresh reboot) and presentation is very smooth. Video Center on the other hand don't seem to have any problem dealing with my videos with regards to speed and accessibility. To stay organized, you can create folders to group your videos on Video Center.

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UPDATE 3: A very good find by one of our regular visitors here, Gareth, is that, moving your videos to the 'My Videos' folder on your memory card will do it all (hiding them from showing up on the gallery, and displaying them on video center). No need to set file or folder attributes anymore! It works like charm on my n82.. If this does not work on yours, then check out Update 2 below.

UPDATE 2: (Might not work on some phones. See Update 3) Another solution is hiding the 'Videos' folder itself. This way, no need to manually hide your videos. Even if you record new videos, they will be automatically hidden from displaying on the gallery. But it will not work by just hiding the 'Videos' folder. We'll need to follow this workaround:

1. Make sure that your Gallery and Video Center is not open.
2. Ensure that 'Videos' folder (and any folders inside it) are NOT set as a hidden or system folder.
3. Using X-plore, rename the 'Videos' folder, any name will do. I suggest simply add a few characters on its name. We'll just need to make the name 'Videos' available for a new folder that we will create.
4. Open Gallery > Images and Videos to refresh its contents (to update the gallery from the change that was made).
5. EXIT the Gallery, then back to X-plore, create a new folder on root of drive E:\ and name it Videos (E:\Videos).
6. Set its hidden and system attributes to true.
7. Transfer all your videos from the old 'Videos' (the one that you renamed) folder to this new 'Videos' folder. That leaves the old 'Videos' folder empty.
8. That's it. All your videos are now hidden from the gallery.
9. If you record new videos, they will not be displayed on the gallery anymore. But if you want them to be available on Video Center, you'll need to move them on E:\Videos. No need to set them as system or hidden files.

I also created a video guide for this. Again, make sure that your Gallery and Video Center is not open before starting:

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Well thanks to Feature Pack 2 on newer devices, I don't need to rant anymore about what s60 could have done to make the gallery application more useful and logical.

What do you think? Have you had any problems with your gallery or is it just me? Well you can't blame me, I keep hundreds of media files because friends and relatives enjoy watching them on the phone (sometimes on tv).

It'll be great for me to hear your thoughts. Or if you have questions, feel free to leave a comment.


UPDATE 1:

If your gallery displays several copies of one of your videos or several items with broken icons (see screenshots below), DO NOT delete anything. Or you will lose some if not all of your video files. If im not mistaken, this happens if you tried hiding several videos by simply setting their parent folder as a Hidden or System folder. So those several copies are actually different files (or so the gallery thinks but all of them are linked to only one file, that is the video that was duplicated).





To fix this:

• Undo the hiding process you may have done on your files or folders


• Make sure that 'Videos' folder (and any folders inside it) on your phone and memory card are NOT set as a hidden or system folder.


• Exit the gallery to refresh its contents and then open it again to see if your files inside are back to normal.

If you still experience problems or have more questions, don't forget to leave comment ^^.

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N82 Tips: Secure and Hide Files While Still Being Able to Access Them Easily

Posted By Aaron

As you may have remembered, hiding photos and videos from showing on your n82's gallery application has been already discussed here. In addition to setting files' system and hidden attributes, I just want to share additional tips on how to effectively limit access on valuable, personal and private files to yourselves only. ;-)

We can have our files hidden but the following are known concerns...

1. Files are not password protected, meaning, they can still be accessed by other users. This can be a mate, your sister, your best friend, or the girlfriend (scary, lol), especially if they are familiar with s60 and they happen to do the browsing and stuff using your faithful file manager application.


2. If we want to hide several files, hiding the parent folder will not do the job, so we will need to do it repeatedly on each and every file. (annoying of course)


3. Videos still remain visible on Video Center.

Solution:

Needless to say, we will need a third party file manager application, preferably one that allows the user to set a program password. You can use any application you want. The one I use is my favorite, X-plore. A great file manager application. You can download X-plore here.

If you are using X-plore, make sure that it is configured to display
System and Hidden Files. To do this, Select Menu > Tools >
Configuration (shortcut is 0).


Ensure that Show Hidden Files and Show system files/folders are
checked:

1. The first problem is easily addressed by the file manager's program password itself. Now no one will be able to (or accidentally) open your file manager and browse your hidden files without entering the correct password.
   
   To set the program password of X-plore:
   Select Menu > Tools >
   Configuration (shortcut is 0). Scroll down until you see the program
   password option, then select it.
   
   Enter a new password then hit Ok to save.
   
   There is another solution, that is to zip the files using the N82's built in Zip application and set a password. This is more secure but the problem is, speed and accessibility. It will take several minutes before you can completely zip a number of files and images or even a single video file! And of course another long wait on file extraction in case you want to access the zipped files again.



2. To hide several files easily:
   
   
   • Create a new folder, then set it as a System and Hidden folder.
     
   • Cut the parent folder of the files you want to be hidden, then move or paste it inside the folder you just created.
     
     To do this using X-plore:
     Highlight the location/folder where you want to place the new folder. Then
     select Menu > File > Make Dir (shortcut is 9).
     Then type the name of the folder and press ok. (in the example, ill create a new folder on root of my memory card and name it "My hidden files"):
     
     
     With the new folder currently highlighted, select Menu > File >
     Attributes (shortcut is 6). Check the Hidden and System
     box.
     
     To save the changes, select Change.
     
     To move the parent folder of your personal files, make sure it is highlighted then select Menu >
     Edit > Move (shortcut is 2). You should see a "Move marked to:
     .." caption at the upper part of the program:
     
     
     Then, highlight the folder you just created (in my case, My hidden files),
     select Menu > File > Select (shortcut is OK) to
     paste your personal files there:
     
   
   


3. The key on hiding videos from Video Center completely is to change your videos' file extensions. Anything will do, .aaa, .abc, or .yourname, lol. If you want to watch the videos again, just open the file using your third party file manager. Normally, it will automatically launch real player and play your video file regardless of the file extension. Still, make sure your videos are hidden and set as system files. This is also applicable to almost any type of file, .doc, .pdf, .txt, .sis, .flv, etc.
   
   In X-plore, highlight the file you want to rename then, select Menu >
   File > Rename (shortcut is 7). Change the extension, then hit Ok
   to save.

Hope this post helped. If you have some questions / problems, leave a comment and ill do my best to help you.

If you haven't heard, Aaron is a new addition to The N82 Blog. He will be writing articles here and helping make this site more useful to all N82 owners and Nseries fans. Click here to learn more about Aaron and welcome him to the community.

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Need More Storage? 16 GB Cards Coming Soon To The Nokia N82

As if 8 gigs wasn't enough, my pal Devin from The Nokia Guide recently got the inside scoop about the Sandisk 16GB microSD card that was supposed to be released in June. His sources close to Sandisk have told him that the massive memory card will be released in July to retailers & consumers. I thought they were gonna go straight to 12 gigs next but according to Devin that's not gonna happen. This leads me to a question I've been asking myself...

Do I really need 16 gigs on my Nokia N82? Will I ever use up all the space?

I guess it depends a lot on how your use your phone, or like Nokia likes to call the Nseries - your "multimedia computer". Personally I'm a huge music lover & use my N82's music player about 3 hours a day. My N82 has about 5 GB of music loaded up on it just so I can save room for videos, pictures, podcasts, etc. I've never maxed out my 8GB card but I've came close. On my laptop my total music library equals about 11 gigs. If I had a 16GB card I can easily load up all my tunes and still have an astonishing 5GB left for any other media I want.

Podcasts do take up a lot of memory. Right now I'm subscribed to about 3 feeds that are updated almost daily. Each podcast is about 30mb so as you can see this can take up lots of space and fast if you don't delete old ones on a constant basis. I haven't covered Podcasting with the N82 yet here at the blog but I plan on doing so soon. It's a great tool for keeping up with your favorite topics all over the web. I also wouldn't hesitate to save large videos from MobiTubia when watching Youtube on my N82. Sometimes I want to save my favorite videos so I don't have to re-stream them again but I don't want to use up the memory.

Watching full length movies and tv shows is another story. I sometimes rip my DVD's to be formatted for my N82 and the files come out to be around 300-400mb depending on the movie. A 20 minute TV show is around 40-50mb so you can see how this will add up fast, just like Podcasting.

So do I need a 16gb card? I think so. It will further enhance the feeling that I am indeed caring around a computer in my pocket. Makes me glad I didn't buy a N95 8gb and have limited memory. Don't forget folks when 32GB cards do eventually come around, the N82 will be compatible. I don't expect something like that until 2009 however.

What about the price of the 16gb? I figure it will start around $100. After a few months of it's existence it should drop to around $70.

If you don't feel like waiting or don't need that much memory check out these Amazon.com deals if you haven't already...

4GB Sandisk MicroSD - $14.55

Sandisk 8GB MicroSD - $37.48

To learn more about the upcoming 16GB card visit this article at Nokia Guide where you can ask Devin questions or leave him comments.

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Freeware: SIC S60 FTP Client - Great For Webmasters & Bloggers

If your a webmaster and N82 owner then SIC FTP is a must have application. What does it do? Exactly what it's supposed to. It connects to your FTP server so you have access to all the files and folders.

All the basic FTP features are included in this application. You can download files from your server to the phone and upload files from your phone to the server. Cut, Copy, and Paste features are included as well as marking multiple files. Files can be moved around within the server and new folders can also be created. File deletion and renaming files is a breeze. Funny thing is this application actually works better than some Windows FTP programs I've tried on my PC. And it's free. Setting up multiple servers is also possible for those webmasters that own multiple websites. I couldn't find settings to change file permissions but I may have missed it.

Check out the screenshots below of the various aspects of SIC FTP.





It's applications like this that really shows the true power and versatility of Symbian S60 3rd Editon and the Nokia N82.

You can learn more and download the application here. If you are having problems downloading from that site, get it from here.

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Freeware: Jbak Taskman - A Free Task Manager To Control Your N82

Well first off I'd like to say belated Happy Easter to everyone, I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. I had a long weekend and didn't get a chance to update the blog yesterday either so hopefully I can bring you a few great applications to try out today.

This free task manager is called Jbak Taskman. I haven't tried it out yet personally but I plan on doing so when I get home from work tonight. From what it looks like it's a great alternative to the built-in way of viewing open applications, bringing you a lot more functionality and features. As many of you already know I prefer using Best Taskman to control all the tasks and memory of my phone, but thats a pay application and Jbak is free.

One of the great features of Jbak Taskman is the ability to search your phone quickly for an application for easy access. Just hold down your menu button and you are presented with the Jbak screen. Press # and start typing "Google Maps" and as soon as you start typing all the results will show up for the letters you input allowing you to quickly launch your application instead of going into the applications folder in your menu.

Here is a rundown of features included in Jback Taskman:

- Find and start the desired application by pressing ‘#’ key and typing the first letters of its name.

- Create shortcuts in the Launch Menu to start applications, open documents or for specific tasks.

- Get full information about running programs and free memory left on the phone (RAM, Phone memory and Memory card).

- Switch to or Close any application. (Yes, it can close Gallery & Music player too).

- Run Jbak Taskman by pressing and holding Menu button (like the built-in Task manager).

- Lock keypad from any screen.

- Reboot your phone.

Warning: If you have Handy Taskman installed and you want to try this out, you must first uninstall Handy Taskman because they will conflict. If you use Best Taskman turn off the auto start and close down the application.

This application needs to be self signed which can be done using the tutorial I posted a few days ago. Update: Looks like you have to already have a certificate, it can't be signed using open signed. Like I said I'll be installing and trying out this free application tonight so if you have any problems let me know and I'll do my best to help you out.

Click here to download Jbak taskman for your Nokia N82.

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Tip: How To Remove Themes Installed On The Memory Card

Many times new users of the Nokia N82 and Symbian S60 make the mistake of installing themes onto their memory card. WHY! We have some much room on the phone memory. Make good use of it. Same goes for applications. With the recent inclusion of Data Preservation we don't have to worry about losing anything when updgrading our firmware.

So make sure you always install applications and themes on the PHONE MEMORY.

With that said, there is a tutorial written by Zach from Symbian In Motion showing you how to remove themes that you have installed on your memory card. Sometimes when you do this it's nearly impossible to remove the theme unless you follow his directions. Other times you can remove the theme with no problem, it just varies. It's a slight pain to dig through the folders on your memory card to remove the theme, but Zach gives you step by step instructions along with pictures.

Click here to learn how to remove themes installed on the memory card of your Nokia N82.

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Y-Browser & Y- Tasks - Get Control Of Your N82

If your one of those people like me who like having full control over their phone, Y-Browser and Y-Tasks are must have free applications installed on your Nokia N82. They are not applications you'll use every day or have fun using, but are essential to keeping your phone's files organized.

Here is a rundown of Y-Browser:

It's pretty much a File Manager for the N82, similar to viewing folders on Windows or Linux. You can make new files and folders, edit there properties, attributes, name, etc. Delete files, mark files, move files, copy files, paste files.

Y-Browser is currently available in following 30 languages:
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Portuguese, Russian Hungarian, Dutch, Polish, Slovenian, Chinese(PRC),Chinese(Taiwan), Thai, Bulgarian, Indonesian, Hebrew, Romanian, Lithuanian, Turkish, Slovak, Greek, Croatian, Finnish, Serbian, Norwegian, Macedonian & Arabic.

Here is a rundown of Y-Tasks:

Y-Tasks isn't used as much. Once in awhile you'll have a few applications or processes that are hanging, and even your task manager can't kill them. Y-Tasks can. This application allows you to monitor phone crashes, trace RAM, get detailed memory status, and mess with fonts (which I haven't gotten into all on your Nokia N82.

Y-Tasks is only available in English.

Click here to check out Dr. Jukka's website, where you can download both Y-Browser and Y-Tasks for the Nokia N82.

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